Open and continue
Open a PDF from Your PDFs or import a .cartapdf project. The draft is saved automatically in browser-local storage and can be reopened from the home page.
Support
CartaPDF help
Instructions for reading, editing, organising, and preserving documents with CartaPDF.
Read and edit
Use View to read the document without selecting or changing its objects. Under Edit, choose Text, Shapes, Tools, or Form. On desktop, right-click; on touch devices, touch and hold to open contextual actions.
Organise your work
The Objects panel lists annotations, images, signatures, stamps, and fields. Document tools manage pages, repeating content, properties, protection, and versions.
Save and transfer
Download PDF creates the final document on your device. Export project from the home page preserves the draft as a .cartapdf file for transfer or archiving.
Editor toolbar
View
Open thumbnails and outline, search text, change pages, and adjust zoom or page settings. Read notes and fill forms without moving or resizing document objects.
Text
Insert text boxes, visual replacements, highlights, underlines, strikeouts, squiggly underlines, notes, callouts, and font detection.
Shapes
Draw rectangles, circles, lines, arrows, polygons, and polylines. Properties and style control colours, thickness, fill, and opacity.
Tools
Use freehand drawing, freehand highlighter, graphic signatures, the stamp collection, and images. Add a link to the selected object or to selected text embedded in the PDF.
Form
In View, fields are interactive and ready to fill. In Edit, each tool opens the left panel with field settings and visual appearance; Fill preview lets you try the field without leaving Edit mode.
Undo and redo
Toolbar commands and keyboard shortcuts let you undo or redo changes made during the open session.
Objects and context menus
Draw an object
Choose a tool and drag on the page to define a text box, form field, rectangle, or circle. For lines and arrows, drag from the start to the end point. Clicking without dragging does not insert these objects. Notes and signatures support click placement.
Selection and properties
In Edit, select an object on the page or in the Objects panel. When applicable, the menu below the selection shows Properties and style before Delete; the same properties are available from the context menu.
Precise positioning
With one or more objects selected, use the arrow keys to move them by one point; hold Shift to move by ten points. Esc cancels the active tool or drag; with no active tool, it clears the object selection.
Move between pages
Drag an object towards another page and release it on the destination. The whole object is repositioned on the new page.
Copy, cut, and paste
Supported objects can be copied or cut and pasted, including onto another page. Highlights and other mark-up tied to source text are not duplicated.
Rotation
Drag the rotation control. Hold Shift to snap the angle to 45-degree increments.
Notes, stamps, and local collections
Notes
The note icon remains visible in the PDF. Open it with a click or from the Objects panel; View lets you read it, while Edit lets you change its content.
Stamps
Open Stamps under Edit > Tools and drag a stamp from the collection onto the page. To create a personal stamp, select a text box, shape, drawing, image, or stamp and use Save to stamp collection.
Local resources
Add PNG, JPEG, WebP, or SVG images and TTF or OTF fonts. SVG files made only from vector elements remain vector artwork; scripts, external resources, and embedded raster images are not accepted.
Restore versions
Create a manual version whenever needed. CartaPDF also creates one before operations that rewrite the document; restoring first preserves the state you are leaving.
Collections are available only in the current browser and profile.
Document tools
Pages
Reorder, rotate, or delete pages; merge other PDFs; extract ranges; split into individual PDFs; and flatten form fields.
Content
Apply headers, footers, page numbers, and watermarks to selected pages. Local resources make images and fonts reusable.
Properties and protection
Edit title, author, subject, source application, and keywords. Create a protected copy or remove protection with the owner password.
Optimisation and versions
Optimise the PDF’s internal structure without resampling images, and manage complete copies available for restoration.
Compare two PDFs
Open Compare from the main menu and choose two documents. Search, thumbnails, text selection, zoom, and navigation remain independent; on mobile, switch between the two PDFs.
PDF and CartaPDF project
The downloaded PDF is the document to read or share. A .cartapdf project is a working archive that can be imported into CartaPDF to continue editing in another browser.
How documents are stored
Drafts, versions, stamps, and resources live in browser storage. Clearing site data, using private browsing, or changing profile can make them unavailable. Export important projects regularly and keep downloaded PDFs.
Keyboard shortcuts
Ctrl + F
Search the PDF
Ctrl + C
Copy text or supported objects
Ctrl + X
Cut selected objects
Ctrl + V
Paste on the current page
Ctrl + Z
Undo the latest change
Ctrl + Shift + Z
Redo the change
Shift + rotate
Rotate in 45° increments
Shift + F10
Open the context menu
Ctrl + mouse wheel
Adjust zoom
Esc
Close a dialog or tool
Essential glossary
- Graphic signature
- An image or drawn signature placed in the document. It is not automatically equivalent to a qualified digital signature.
- Visual replacement
- An editable text box with an initially white background, positioned over the chosen area. The original content technically remains beneath the cover.
- Font detection
- Reads font, size, and colour from text embedded in the PDF and suggests the closest standard PDF variant.
- Flattened fields
- Form fields embedded into the page and no longer editable as interactive controls.
- Restore version
- A complete local copy of the PDF, available under Versions in Document tools.
- Personal stamp
- The appearance of one or more supported objects saved in the browser collection for reuse in the PDF.